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Was this some kind of relay race?
Did they plan this together just to screw with him?
Not letting him leave, going out of their way to make things difficult?
Bunch of damned bastards.
Obito cursed inwardly, glaring at White Zetsu like he was already a corpse.
White Zetsu, blissfully unaware that his lifespan had just shortened dramatically, saw Obito staring at him and urged him on with a grin.
"Heehee! Let's go already, Madara-sama. I can't wait to find out what it feels like to take a dump!"
He reached out to drag Obito toward the meeting room, only to be flung aside.
"I said I have urgent business. The meeting is postponed for an hour."
His voice was ice-cold. The next instant, Kamui activated. Obito and Naruto vanished from where they stood.
"Hmm?"
Danzo frowned slightly. Something about "Madara-sama" just now felt… off. Like a man on the verge of losing control of his bowels, desperately searching for a toilet.
So even top-tier shinobi couldn't endure that kind of thing forever… Danzo mused.
Inside the Kamui dimension, Obito clutched his head and screamed, rolling across the ground in utter disarray.
It wasn't that he couldn't endure pain. But ever since awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan and Kamui, aside from that one encounter with Minato, he hadn't truly been injured again.
Now, after so long without feeling real pain, he could finally let out a raw scream. Strangely enough, it felt… relieving.
After about ten minutes, he collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath.
Through his mask, he covered his face. His eyes burned with vicious light as he looked at Naruto lying nearby.
"How long has it been… You're the first one to make me feel pain like this, Nine-Tails."
He reentered Naruto's inner world without hesitation.
The moment he saw the Nine-Tails, he activated his Mangekyō and seized control of it.
Minutes later, Obito snapped his eyes open.
"The Rinnegan. Eternal Mangekyō. Uchiha Akira."
From the Nine-Tails, he learned about Akira. And he finally understood why the beast was so terrified of going outside.
Using Susanoo to perform a Thousand Years of Death on a Tailed Beast…
What kind of lunatic even thinks of that?
Even Obito was speechless.
Still, his resolve hardened.
A man who somehow possessed both the Rinnegan and Eternal Mangekyō… if Akira wasn't eliminated, he would become a massive variable in the Eye of the Moon Plan.
This time, working with Danzo, even if they couldn't kill Akira, they had to at least probe the abilities of that Rinnegan.
"Nine-Tails, I hope when the time comes… you'll give Uchiha Akira a surprise he won't see coming."
Obito's gaze turned murderous. With Naruto in hand, he left the Kamui space.
"Eh? You're back already, Madara-sama? Didn't you say an hour? It hasn't even been half that. Or did you really just go to take a dump?"
White Zetsu asked curiously as Obito reappeared.
Obito ignored the words of a man already dead in his mind and turned to Danzo.
"Danzo. We can begin."
Uchiha Clan Compound.
Two Uchiha jōnin found Akira just as he was preparing for a barbecue.
They knelt on one knee, tense but respectful.
"A-Ancestor-sama… the Nine-Tails jinchūriki seems to have gone missing."
Akira turned sharply, his gaze locking onto the speaker.
"What did you say? Naruto is missing?"
Under that oppressive stare, the Uchiha swallowed but answered firmly.
"Yes."
He hurried on before Akira could question further.
"As per your instructions, we went to guard the jinchūriki. But when we arrived at his residence, he wasn't there.
We searched. Called other clan members to help. We combed through the entire village.
We couldn't find him anywhere.
The Nine-Tails jinchūriki has disappeared."
Akira fell silent, then looked toward the Hokage Tower.
"You old bastard. I thought you'd keep holding back. Didn't expect you to lose patience and go after Naruto already.
But fine. Now I've got my excuse."
He turned, ready to head to the Hokage Tower to have a little chat with Hiruzen.
A sharp whoosh cut through the air.
Itachi appeared, face grim.
"Ancestor-sama. Izumi is missing!"
Akira raised an eyebrow. "Izumi too?"
The three of them had planned a barbecue here at noon. It had been over half an hour.
Izumi wasn't the type to break her word. Even if something urgent came up, she would have asked her mother or someone else to pass on a message.
But she hadn't shown up. No message either.
Sensing something wrong, Itachi had gone to her home.
Now he returned with this news.
"Was this your doing too, old man?" Akira muttered, eyes fixed on the Hokage Tower.
Naruto, he could understand.
But kidnapping Uchiha Izumi? What was that move?
To threaten him with a girl?
That might work on Itachi.
Not on him.
Seeing Akira staring at the Hokage Tower, Itachi stepped forward, anxious.
"Ancestor-sama, was Izumi taken by the Third Hokage?"
"Not certain. But there's a high chance. I can't think of anyone else who'd pull something like this."
Itachi clenched his teeth. "Damn Sarutobi Hiruzen. I'll demand an explanation right now."
Just then, a mocking voice drifted over.
"Oh? All here? Perfect. Saves me the trouble."
Uchiha Tekka walked over, brimming with swagger.
"Looking for the Nine-Tails jinchūriki and Uchiha Izumi?"
He pointed at Akira, then at Itachi, grinning.
"I know where they are. Agree to one condition, and I'll tell you."
He jabbed a finger at them.
"Come on. Each of you kneel and give me a proper kowtow. Then I'll tell you where they are."
With Naruto and Izumi's information in hand, he felt bold beyond measure.
That morning, he'd knelt and begged Akira to take him as a disciple, only to be rejected. The humiliation had burned in his chest ever since.
Now he had leverage.
He'd knelt before Akira.
Now it was Akira's turn.
"Not kneeling?" Tekka sneered. "Then forget ever finding them."
Before the last word even faded—
Whoosh.
Itachi was in front of him.
"So fast—"
Tekka couldn't react. His throat was seized.
Mangekyō Sharingan flared to life. Itachi stared into his eyes.
"Where is Izumi?"
But Tekka wasn't caught in the genjutsu.
"AAAAH!"
He clutched his head, screaming in agony.
Itachi frowned and immediately withdrew his ocular power.
"A curse mark… I've never seen one like this."
Tekka lifted his head, sneering through the pain.
"You think I'd come unprepared? Your Mangekyō genjutsu doesn't work on me anymore! Hahaha!"
He stood up and shouted,
"If you want information, kneel. That's your only choice."
"What's going on?"
Akira stepped forward.
"Ancestor-sama. There's a special curse mark engraved in his brain. If I force genjutsu, it triggers. His head will most likely explode."
"A special curse mark? Makes the head explode?"
Akira's Eternal Mangekyō spun to life.
"I wonder if it can block mine."
"AAAAAAH!"
Tekka collapsed again, screaming even more violently.
Akira shut his eyes, brows tightening.
If he continued, the man's head would indeed explode.
It was madness. Like planting a bomb in his own skull.
Any sufficiently strong genjutsu would trigger it.
A suicide pawn.
"I told you, it's useless! Kill me if you want. But then you'll never get their information! Hahaha!"
Itachi's expression darkened. Kneel before a traitor?
Impossible.
But if he didn't…
"Why betray the Uchiha?" Itachi asked steadily. "If you have a grievance, speak it. I, Uchiha Itachi, will help you. You don't need to sell out your clan."
Tekka laughed wildly.
"Look at you, Itachi. Furious but powerless. Feels awful, doesn't it?"
That was why he'd taken this near-suicidal mission.
To see Akira and Itachi helpless.
It felt incredible.
"Enough talk. Kneel. Especially you."
He pointed at Akira.
"You wish."
Akira's kick slammed into his chest.
Boom.
Tekka flew back into a tree.
"I've already put my life on the line!" he roared.
Akira stepped forward and crushed one of his arms underfoot. Crack.
Tekka howled, veins bulging.
"Useless! You're just showing your incompetence!"
Crack.
The other arm snapped.
Tekka laughed hysterically despite the agony.
"Kill me! Let the jinchūriki and Izumi die with me! Not a bad ending!"
Itachi hurried forward. "Ancestor-sama, please. If he dies, finding them will be far harder."
"Relax," Akira said calmly. "I won't let an ant disturb my mind."
He drew a kunai, flipping it between his fingers.
"I just want him to enjoy the same treatment Danzo did."
Tekka swallowed hard.
He remembered Danzo's miserable state that night.
Limbs shattered. Flesh carved away.
He didn't want that.
"W-Wait! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Akira snorted. "That's all it took? I haven't even started."
Tekka steadied himself.
"Both the Nine-Tails jinchūriki and Izumi are in the Root base. Two thousand meters underground in Konoha. Let's see if you've got the guts to follow."
"Lead."
Itachi moved to follow but was stopped.
"You stay. This might be a diversion. If you leave too, Fugaku would be the only top-tier fighter left in the clan.
Better safe than sorry."
Itachi clenched his jaw but nodded.
Akira followed Tekka two thousand meters below ground.
"So there's a facility even down here. Root really are sewer rats."
The base doors opened. Pitch black inside.
"They're in there. Dare to go in?"
Tekka lifted his chin provocatively.
Bang.
Akira's palm struck.
Tekka's head exploded in a spray of blood.
Without a glance at the headless corpse, Akira stepped into the darkness.
It swallowed him whole.
Inside, killing intent filled the air.
Carefully concealed.
But impossible to hide from him.
There were people waiting.
An ambush.
With others present, Tekka had outlived his usefulness.
"..."
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